How much will it cost? Calculate your home loan repayments

Safe As Houses: 225 Murray Street, Rockhampton

Police conduct becomes the focus of a murder trial, while the actual murder takes a backseat.

WARNING: The following article contains descriptions of violent crimes that some may find disturbing.

Whether or not Julia Thompson murdered her husband Alexander ended up being less of an issue at her trial than how the police had gone about proving it.

Comparing someone’s tactics to fascism is such a common rhetorical weapon these days it’s lost most of its punch. But it must have been particularly poignant when the judge presiding over the case at the height of World War II compared the Queensland police to the German Gestapo. Those words ended up hanging heavier over the trial than Julia Thompson’s actual guilt or innocence.

Julia and Alexander lived at 225 Murray Street in Rockhampton. Alexander was a railway machinist who often worked nights. The implications of his schedule depend on whether one believes the Thompsons’ neighbours were true and reliable witnesses, as the police would paint them, or meddlesome and vindictive busybodies, as Julia Thompson would paint them.

The house at 225 Murray St, Rockhampton. Source: Google Maps 2016

According to Julia and Alexander’s neighbours, the couple often fought. The source of these fights, they said, was Julia’s ongoing friendship with a man named Gill.

This “friendship” had seen Alexander storm out of the house after Julia on several occasions when she had brazenly left for a rendezvous with Gill, her neighbours said. It had seen him openly bemoan to his neighbours his wife’s infidelity. And, police claimed, it had ultimately seen him murdered by strychnine poisoning.

On March 4, 1942, Alexander took some Bex headache powder from the medicine cabinet at the couple’s home at 225 Murray Street and put it in his bag to take to work. Neighbours would later testify that when he had earlier gone to the chemist to buy some, Julia had loudly protested that he should use the Bex already in the house. Hours later, he would be dead.

An autopsy confirmed the presence of strychnine, likely ingested through the Bex. Both Julia and her friend Gill argued to police that Alexander had been suicidal, and had become convinced he had stomach cancer due to an ulcer. The problem with this theory is that the autopsy found no ulcer.

It was the way that the police conducted their investigation that would prove to be Julia Thompson’s salvation. They held her in a darkened interrogation room for seven hours, pressing her for a confession in spite of her repeated assertions of innocence. She answered every witness statement from her neighbours in the same dismissive fashion: “That’s lies”.

At Magistrate’s Court for her committal hearing, the grilling by police investigators continued over the loud protestations of Julia’s solicitor.

Once she was committed to stand trial, it was the police who found themselves the focus of the proceedings. Both Julia’s solicitor and the presiding judge took them to task for their “Gestapo” tactics, with the judge going so far as to say that the inspector in charge of the investigation “does not seem to know much about his job at all”.

A jury would find Julia not guilty, as the only evidence presented was hearsay that Julia had repeatedly denied. The police had no proof Julia had ever been in possession of strychnine and no physical evidence linking her to the crime.

In reading the verdict, though, the presiding judge reserved some strong words for Julia, particularly about her statements that there was nothing untoward in her relationship with Gill.

“I don’t believe that, and I don’t believe you do. Gill seems to be a rotter. He is the cause of this trouble, no matter how it happened whether it was suicide or murder. Gill is at the root of a lot of it by hanging around a married woman when he has a wife and family.”

It’s unclear if the house currently sitting at 225 Murray Street is the same one where the drama between Julia, Alexander and Gill unfolded. It last sold in 2014 for $200,000, and CoreLogic pegs that price as the upper end of its current estimated value.

Julia Thompson was declared not guilty by a jury of her peers, so it would be wrong to ascribe guilt to her for a crime for which she was exonerated. One must wonder, though, how differently her trial may have turned out had the police and their tactics not taken centre stage.

Each week, Safe as Houses looks at some of Australia's most notorious murders and the effect those killings have had on real estate values.

Want to follow the series? Sign up to get the latest Safe as Houses articles in your inbox when they're released.

I agree to the Finder privacy policy and to receive emails from Finder

Ask an Expert

Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank
details) as your question will be made public

finder.com.au is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or
product provider

We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations

Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions
below to see if yours has already been asked

Your Question

Subscribe to the Finder newsletter for the latest money tips and tricks

Notify me via email when there is a reply

Finder only provides general advice and factual information, so consider your own circumstances, read the PDS or seek advice before you decide to act on our content. By submitting a question, you're accepting our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Disclaimer - Hive Empire Pty Ltd (trading as finder.com.au, ABN: 18 118 785 121) provides factual information, general advice and services on financial products as a Corporate Authorised Representative (432664) of Advice Evolution Pty Ltd AFSL 342880. Please refer to our FSG - Financial Products. We also provide general advice on credit products under our own Credit Licence ACL 385509. Please refer to our Credit Guide for more information. We can also provide you with general advice and factual information on about a range of other products, services and providers. We are also a Corporate Authorised Representative of Countrywide Tolstrup Financial Services Group Pty Ltd. ABN 51 586 953 292 AFSL 244436 for the provision of general insurance products. Please refer to our FSG - General Insurance. We hope that the information and general advice we can provide will help you make a more informed decision. We are not owned by any Bank or Insurer and we are not a product issuer or a credit provider. Although we cover a wide range of products, providers and services we don't cover every product, provider or service available in the market so there may be other options available to you. We also don't recommend specific products, services or providers. If you decide to apply for a product or service through our website you will be dealing directly with the provider of that product or service and not with us. We endeavour to ensure that the information on this site is current and accurate but you should confirm any information with the product or service provider and read the information they can provide. If you are unsure you should get independent advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan. (c) 2018.

Feedback

How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely

Required

Required

Required

Optional, only if you want us to follow up with you.

By submitting your email, you agree to the finder.com.au Privacy Policy

Thank you for your feedback.

Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.

Important information about this website

finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of major banks, insurers and product issuers.

finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product. You should consider whether the products featured on our site are appropriate for your needs and seek independent advice if you have any questions.

Products marked as 'Promoted' or "Advertisement" are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options and find the best option for you.

The identification of a group of products, as 'Top' or 'Best' is a reflection of user preferences based on current website data. On a regular basis, analytics drive the creation of a list of popular products. Where these products are grouped, they appear in no particular order.

Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment.

We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.

Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.

Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.

Please read our website terms of use for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.